Automatic accessibility testing using speech recognition

ABSTRACT

A method, computer program, and computer system are provided for improving accessibility to computer reader tools. Data corresponding to one or more words to be displayed to a user is received. The received data is converted into synthesized speech. One or more words exceeding an understanding threshold value are identified from the synthesized speech. The understanding threshold value corresponds to a probability of difficulty associated with understanding the one or more words. One or more replacement words are retrieved for the one or more words exceeding the understanding threshold value. The synthesized speech is updated with the one or more replacement words.

FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to field of machine learning, and moreparticularly to natural language processing.

BACKGROUND

Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech using acomputer. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speechcomputer or speech synthesizer, and such a system can be implemented insoftware or hardware products, or some combination of these. Atext-to-speech system converts normal language text into speech or canrender symbolic linguistic representations, like phonetictranscriptions, into speech.

SUMMARY

Embodiments relate to a method, system, and computer readable medium forimproving accessibility to computer reader tools. According to oneaspect, a method for improving accessibility to computer reader tools isprovided. The method may include receiving data corresponding to one ormore words to be displayed to a user. The received data is convertedinto synthesized speech. One or more words exceeding an understandingthreshold value are identified from the synthesized speech. Theunderstanding threshold value corresponds to a probability of difficultyassociated with understanding the one or more words. One or morereplacement words are retrieved for the one or more words exceeding theunderstanding threshold value. The synthesized speech is updated withthe one or more replacement words.

According to another aspect, a computer system for improvingaccessibility to computer reader tools is provided. The computer systemmay include one or more processors, one or more computer-readablememories, one or more computer-readable tangible storage devices, andprogram instructions stored on at least one of the one or more storagedevices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors viaat least one of the one or more memories, whereby the computer system iscapable of performing a method. The method may include receiving datacorresponding to one or more words to be displayed to a user. Thereceived data is converted into synthesized speech. One or more wordsexceeding an understanding threshold value are identified from thesynthesized speech. The understanding threshold value corresponds to aprobability of difficulty associated with understanding the one or morewords. One or more replacement words are retrieved for the one or morewords exceeding the understanding threshold value. The synthesizedspeech is updated with the one or more replacement words.

According to yet another aspect, a computer readable medium forimproving accessibility to computer reader tools is provided. Thecomputer readable medium may include one or more computer-readablestorage devices and program instructions stored on at least one of theone or more tangible storage devices, the program instructionsexecutable by a processor. The program instructions are executable by aprocessor for performing a method that may accordingly include receivingdata corresponding to one or more words to be displayed to a user. Thereceived data is converted into synthesized speech. One or more wordsexceeding an understanding threshold value are identified from thesynthesized speech. The understanding threshold value corresponds to aprobability of difficulty associated with understanding the one or morewords. One or more replacement words are retrieved for the one or morewords exceeding the understanding threshold value. The synthesizedspeech is updated with the one or more replacement words.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects, features and advantages will become apparentfrom the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments,which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings. Thevarious features of the drawings are not to scale as the illustrationsare for clarity in facilitating the understanding of one skilled in theart in conjunction with the detailed description. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a networked computer environment according to atleast one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system for improving accessibility tocomputer reader tools, according to at least one embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an operational flowchart illustrating the steps carried out bya program that performs improving accessibility to computer readertools, according to at least one embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of internal and external components ofcomputers and servers depicted in FIG. 1 according to at least oneembodiment;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an illustrative cloud computing environmentincluding the computer system depicted in FIG. 1 , according to at leastone embodiment; and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of functional layers of the illustrative cloudcomputing environment of FIG. 5 , according to at least one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Detailed embodiments of the claimed structures and methods are disclosedherein; however, it can be understood that the disclosed embodiments aremerely illustrative of the claimed structures and methods that may beembodied in various forms. Those structures and methods may, however, beembodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limitedto the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these exemplaryembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete and will fully convey the scope to those skilled in the art. Inthe description, details of well-known features and techniques may beomitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the presented embodiments.

Embodiments relate generally to the field of machine learning, and moreparticularly to natural language processing. The following describedexemplary embodiments provide a system, method, and computer program to,among other things, determine whether spoken words may be difficult tounderstand and replace them with spoken words that are easier tounderstand. Therefore, some embodiments have the capacity to improve thefield of computing by allowing for computers to automatically test theaccessibility of screen reader systems, and improve accessibility ofcomputer reader tools, by increasing understanding of synthesized speechgenerated by them.

As previously described, speech synthesis is the artificial productionof human speech. A computer system used for this purpose is called aspeech computer or speech synthesizer, and such a system can beimplemented in software products, hardware products, or some combinationof hardware and software. A text-to-speech system converts normallanguage text (in the form of a corpus of text in a book, magazine,computerized document, etc.) into speech or can render symboliclinguistic representations, like phonetic transcriptions, into speech.

Many people use computer reader tools to help them work with textdisplayed on computer systems. While there are industry standards forscreen reader solutions, the outputs of screen readers may may not be ofa format that facilitates testing such solutions. For example, whenconsidering the importance of the length of a given statement input intoor output by a screen reader, it may be required that the length of themessage should not exceed certain values based on the capabilities of auser of the system. In addition, some words are phonetically verysimilar to each other, and in some cases even identical, which makes itdifficult without context to correctly distinguish them once they areheard despite of lack of problem when the user can read them. Testingsuch aspects is often necessary, but manually performed testing may bevery time-consuming.

It may be advantageous, therefore, to automate the process of testingthe accessibility of computer reader-based solutions using speechrecognition. The direct flow of synthesized speech to the speechrecognition solution will greatly enhance the speed in which thecomputer reader labels can be tested. Furthermore, replacement of ahuman tester by the speech recognition neural network enables to produceconsistent metrics of for example word similarity to others.

Aspects are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrationsand/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computerreadable media according to the various embodiments. It will beunderstood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or blockdiagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrationsand/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable programinstructions.

The following described exemplary embodiments provide a system, methodand computer program that performs automatic accessibility testing basedon determining whether words may be difficult to understand andreplacing them with words that are easier to understand. Referring nowto FIG. 1 , a functional block diagram of a networked computerenvironment illustrating an accessibility testing system 100(hereinafter “system”) for automatic accessibility testing. It should beappreciated that FIG. 1 provides only an illustration of oneimplementation and does not imply any limitations with regard to theenvironments in which different embodiments may be implemented. Manymodifications to the depicted environments may be made based on designand implementation requirements.

The system 100 may include a computer 102 and a server computer 114. Thecomputer 102 may communicate with the server computer 114 via acommunication network 110 (hereinafter “network”). The computer 102 mayinclude a processor 104 and a software program 108 that is stored on adata storage device 106 and is enabled to interface with a user andcommunicate with the server computer 114. As will be discussed belowwith reference to FIG. 4 the computer 102 may include internalcomponents 800A and external components 900A, respectively, and theserver computer 114 may include internal components 800B and externalcomponents 900B, respectively. The computer 102 may be, for example, amobile device, a telephone, a personal digital assistant, a netbook, alaptop computer, a tablet computer, a desktop computer, or any type ofcomputing devices capable of running a program, accessing a network, andaccessing a database.

The server computer 114 may also operate in a cloud computing servicemodel, such as Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service(PaaS), or Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), as discussed below withrespect to FIGS. 5 and 6 . The server computer 114 may also be locatedin a cloud computing deployment model, such as a private cloud,community cloud, public cloud, or hybrid cloud.

The server computer 114, which may be used for automatic accessibilitytesting is enabled to run an Accessibility Testing Program 116(hereinafter “program”) that may interact with a database 112. TheAccessibility Testing Program is explained in more detail below withrespect to FIG. 3 . In one embodiment, the computer 102 may operate asan input device including a user interface while the program 116 may runprimarily on server computer 114. In an alternative embodiment, theprogram 116 may run primarily on one or more computers 102 while theserver computer 114 may be used for processing and storage of data usedby the program 116. It should be noted that the program 116 may be astandalone program or may be integrated into a larger accessibilitytesting program.

It should be noted, however, that processing for the program 116 may, insome instances be shared amongst the computers 102 and the servercomputers 114 in any ratio. In another embodiment, the program 116 mayoperate on more than one computer, server computer, or some combinationof computers and server computers, for example, a plurality of computers102 communicating across the network 110 with a single server computer114. In another embodiment, for example, the program 116 may operate ona plurality of server computers 114 communicating across the network 110with a plurality of client computers. Alternatively, the program mayoperate on a network server communicating across the network with aserver and a plurality of client computers.

The network 110 may include wired connections, wireless connections,fiber optic connections, or some combination thereof. In general, thenetwork 110 can be any combination of connections and protocols thatwill support communications between the computer 102 and the servercomputer 114. The network 110 may include various types of networks,such as, for example, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network(WAN) such as the Internet, a telecommunication network such as thePublic Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a wireless network, a publicswitched network, a satellite network, a cellular network (e.g., a fifthgeneration (5G) network, a long-term evolution (LTE) network, a thirdgeneration (3G) network, a code division multiple access (CDMA) network,etc.), a public land mobile network (PLMN), a metropolitan area network(MAN), a private network, an ad hoc network, an intranet, a fiberoptic-based network, or the like, and/or a combination of these or othertypes of networks.

The number and arrangement of devices and networks shown in FIG. 1 areprovided as an example. In practice, there may be additional devicesand/or networks, fewer devices and/or networks, different devices and/ornetworks, or differently arranged devices and/or networks than thoseshown in FIG. 1 . Furthermore, two or more devices shown in FIG. 1 maybe implemented within a single device, or a single device shown in FIG.1 may be implemented as multiple, distributed devices. Additionally, oralternatively, a set of devices (e.g., one or more devices) of system100 may perform one or more functions described as being performed byanother set of devices of system 100.

Referring now to FIG. 2 , a diagram of an accessibility testing system200 is depicted according to one or more embodiments. The accessibilitytesting system 200 may include, among other things, a screen reader 202,a neural network 204, a database 206, and a user interface 208. Thescreen reader 202 may generate files containing synthesized speech forreadable content in a document, on a website, or contained within afile. Specifically, the screen reader 202 may synthesize speech based onrecognizing text to be displayed through the user interface 208. Thescreen reader 202 may recognize words from the text and may split thewords into individual phonemes. The screen reader 202 may generate awaveform based on the identified phonemes. The length of all words to becommunicated may be measured by the screen reader 202.

The synthesized speech files may be passed to the neural network 204and/or stored in the database 206. The neural network 204 may recordconfidence score that may indicate the certainty with which it guessesall the words. Words that have low confidence score that may fall belowan understanding threshold value may be identified and the neuralnetwork 204 may determine a synonym that may be easier to distinguish.The system may generate a report indicating words that have beenreplaced. The report may be a text document, spreadsheet, or audio file.By calibrating the understanding threshold value, the system may be ableto return true and false outputs that may facilitate use of the systemin continuous integration and continuous delivery/deployment (CI/CD)solutions.

The neural network 204 may perform automated tests of the accessibilityof the screen reader 202. The neural network 204 may have pre-definedthresholds based on a level of ability of an end user. The neuralnetwork 204 may update these thresholds, or a tester may have fullcontrol over adjusting the thresholds. The user may define websites,documents, or the like for testing of the screen reader 202 by theneural network 204. The neural network 204 may isolate screen-readablecontent from the website, document, etc. The neural network 204 maycheck that the screen-readable content contains long numbers ornon-standard characters and may exclude such strings from testing. Theneural network 204 may replace difficult to understand words within thesynthesized speech by replacing such words with synonyms from anelectronic thesaurus stored within the database 206. The neural network204 may also generate a report indicating which words have beenreplaced, in addition to an explanation indicating a probability ofdifficulty in understanding the words may have been replaced. Theupdated synthesized speech and report may be transmitted to a userthrough the user interface 208.

Referring now to FIG. 3 , an operational flowchart illustrating thesteps of a method 300 carried out by a program that improvesaccessibility to computer reader tools is depicted. The method 300 maybe described with the aid of the exemplary embodiments depicted in FIGS.1 and 2 .

At 302, the method 300 may include receiving data corresponding to oneor more words to be displayed to a user. The data may be a website,document, or other file containing text to be displayed. In operation, ascreen reader 202 (FIG. 2 ) may receive data from a database 206 (FIG. 2) or over a communication network 110 (FIG. 1 ).

At 304, the method 300 may include converting the received data intosynthesized speech. Conversion of the data to the synthesized speech mayexclude strings such as large numbers, proper nouns, or words withnon-standard characters. In operation, the screen reader 202 (FIG. 2 )may convert the received data to synthesized speech based on identifyingwords within the data, dividing the words into phonemes, and generatinga waveform corresponding to the phonemes. The screen reader 202 maystore files containing the synthesized speech within the database 206(FIG. 2 ).

At 306, the method 300 may include identifying, from the synthesizedspeech, one or more words exceeding an understanding threshold value.The understanding threshold value corresponds to a probability ofdifficulty associated with understanding the one or more words. Thewords exceeding the threshold are identified based on a neural networkprocessing the synthesized speech and identifying a confidence valueassociated with certainty in understanding each word within thesynthesized speech. In operation, a neural network 204 (FIG. 2 ) mayreceive the synthesized speech files from the screen reader 202 (FIG. 2) or may retrieve the files from the database 206 (FIG. 2 ). The neuralnetwork 204 may network process the synthesized speech files andidentify confidence scores for each word within the synthesized speechin order to determine whether words should be replaced due to difficultyin understanding the words.

At 308, the method 300 may include retrieving one or more replacementwords for the one or more words exceeding the understanding thresholdvalue. The replacement words are retrieved from an electronic thesaurus.In operation, the neural network 204 (FIG. 2 ) may retrieve replacementwords from the database 206 (FIG. 2 ) for replacement within the data tobe displayed to the user.

At 310, the method 300 may include updating the synthesized speech withthe one or more replacement words. The updated synthesized speech may beeasier to understand based on replacement of homonyms (i.e., homophonesor homographs) and other difficult to understand words within the data.In operation, the neural network 204 (FIG. 2 ) may update thesynthesized speech with the replacement words. Specifically, the neuralnetwork 204 may make a copy of the data to be displayed that includesthe replacement words and may run the copy of the updated data throughthe screen reader 202 to generate a new waveform for the updatedsynthesized speech. The updated synthesized speech may be played to theuser through the user interface 208 (FIG. 2 ). The user interface 208may also display a report indicating which words may have been replacedfrom the original data and explanations indicating why the words werereplaced.

It may be appreciated that FIG. 3 provides only an illustration of oneimplementation and does not imply any limitations with regard to howdifferent embodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to thedepicted environments may be made based on design and implementationrequirements.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram 400 of internal and external components ofcomputers depicted in FIG. 1 in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment. It should be appreciated that FIG. 4 provides only anillustration of one implementation and does not imply any limitationswith regard to the environments in which different embodiments may beimplemented. Many modifications to the depicted environments may be madebased on design and implementation requirements.

Computer 102 (FIG. 1 ) and server computer 114 (FIG. 1 ) may includerespective sets of internal components 800A,B and external components900A,B illustrated in FIG. 5 . Each of the sets of internal components800 include one or more processors 820, one or more computer-readableRAMs 822 and one or more computer-readable ROMs 824 on one or more buses826, one or more operating systems 828, and one or morecomputer-readable tangible storage devices 830.

Processor 820 is implemented in hardware, firmware, or a combination ofhardware and software. Processor 820 is a central processing unit (CPU),a graphics processing unit (GPU), an accelerated processing unit (APU),a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), afield-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application-specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), or another type of processing component. In someimplementations, processor 820 includes one or more processors capableof being programmed to perform a function. Bus 826 includes a componentthat permits communication among the internal components 800A,B.

The one or more operating systems 828, the software program 108 (FIG. 1) and the Accessibility Testing Program 116 (FIG. 1 ) on server computer114 (FIG. 1 ) are stored on one or more of the respectivecomputer-readable tangible storage devices 830 for execution by one ormore of the respective processors 820 via one or more of the respectiveRAMs 822 (which typically include cache memory). In the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 4 , each of the computer-readable tangible storagedevices 830 is a magnetic disk storage device of an internal hard drive.Alternatively, each of the computer-readable tangible storage devices830 is a semiconductor storage device such as ROM 824, EPROM, flashmemory, an optical disk, a magneto-optic disk, a solid state disk, acompact disc (CD), a digital versatile disc (DVD), a floppy disk, amagnetic tape, and/or another type of non-transitory computer-readabletangible storage device that can store a computer program and digitalinformation.

Each set of internal components 800A,B also includes a RAY drive orinterface 832 to read from and write to one or more portablecomputer-readable tangible storage devices 936 such as a CD-ROM, DVD,memory stick, magnetic tape, magnetic disk, optical disk orsemiconductor storage device. A software program, such as the softwareprogram 108 (FIG. 1 ) and the Accessibility Testing Program 116 (FIG. 1) can be stored on one or more of the respective portablecomputer-readable tangible storage devices 936, read via the respectiveR/W drive or interface 832 and loaded into the respective hard drive830.

Each set of internal components 800A,B also includes network adapters orinterfaces 836 such as a TCP/IP adapter cards; wireless Wi-Fi interfacecards; or 3G, 4G, or 5G wireless interface cards or other wired orwireless communication links. The software program 108 (FIG. 1 ) and theAccessibility Testing Program 116 (FIG. 1 ) on the server computer 114(FIG. 1 ) can be downloaded to the computer 102 (FIG. 1 ) and servercomputer 114 from an external computer via a network (for example, theInternet, a local area network or other, wide area network) andrespective network adapters or interfaces 836. From the network adaptersor interfaces 836, the software program 108 and the AccessibilityTesting Program 116 on the server computer 114 are loaded into therespective hard drive 830. The network may comprise copper wires,optical fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches,gateway computers and/or edge servers.

Each of the sets of external components 900A,B can include a computerdisplay monitor 920, a keyboard 930, and a computer mouse 934. Externalcomponents 900A,B can also include touch screens, virtual keyboards,touch pads, pointing devices, and other human interface devices. Each ofthe sets of internal components 800A,B also includes device drivers 840to interface to computer display monitor 920, keyboard 930 and computermouse 934. The device drivers 840, R/W drive or interface 832 andnetwork adapter or interface 836 comprise hardware and software (storedin storage device 830 and/or ROM 824).

It is understood in advance that although this disclosure includes adetailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachingsrecited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,some embodiments are capable of being implemented in conjunction withany other type of computing environment now known or later developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g. networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail).The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloudinfrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage,or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exceptionof limited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring to FIG. 5 , illustrative cloud computing environment 500 isdepicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 500 comprises one ormore cloud computing nodes 10 with which local computing devices used bycloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA)or cellular telephone 54A, desktop computer 54B, laptop computer 54C,and/or automobile computer system 54N may communicate. Cloud computingnodes 10 may communicate with one another. They may be grouped (notshown) physically or virtually, in one or more networks, such asPrivate, Community, Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove,or a combination thereof. This allows cloud computing environment 500 tooffer infrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which acloud consumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. It is understood that the types of computing devices 54A-N shownin FIG. 5 are intended to be illustrative only and that cloud computingnodes 10 and cloud computing environment 500 can communicate with anytype of computerized device over any type of network and/or networkaddressable connection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring to FIG. 6 , a set of functional abstraction layers 600provided by cloud computing environment 500 (FIG. 5 ) is shown. Itshould be understood in advance that the components, layers, andfunctions shown in FIG. 6 are intended to be illustrative only andembodiments are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layersand corresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include: mainframes 61; RISC(Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers 62;servers 63; blade servers 64; storage devices 65; and networks andnetworking components 66. In some embodiments, software componentsinclude network application server software 67 and database software 68.

Virtualization layer 70 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers71; virtual storage 72; virtual networks 73, including virtual privatenetworks; virtual applications and operating systems 74; and virtualclients 75.

In one example, management layer 80 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning 81 provides dynamic procurement ofcomputing resources and other resources that are utilized to performtasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing 82provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloudcomputing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may comprise applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal 83 provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management 84provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such thatrequired service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planningand fulfillment 85 provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of,cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipatedin accordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 90 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation 91; software development and lifecycle management 92; virtualclassroom education delivery 93; data analytics processing 94;transaction processing 95; and Accessibility Testing 96. AccessibilityTesting 96 may determine whether words may be difficult to understandand replace them with words that are easier to understand.

Some embodiments may relate to a system, a method, and/or a computerreadable medium at any possible technical detail level of integration.The computer readable medium may include a computer-readablenon-transitory storage medium (or media) having computer readableprogram instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry outoperations.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program code/instructions for carrying out operationsmay be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA)instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions,microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, configuration datafor integrated circuitry, or either source code or object code writtenin any combination of one or more programming languages, including anobject oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++, or thelike, and procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programminglanguage or similar programming languages. The computer readable programinstructions may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on theuser's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user'scomputer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remotecomputer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may beconnected to the user's computer through any type of network, includinga local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or theconnection may be made to an external computer (for example, through theInternet using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments,electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logiccircuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logicarrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions byutilizing state information of the computer readable programinstructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order toperform aspects or operations.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer readable media according to variousembodiments. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or blockdiagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions,which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing thespecified logical function(s). The method, computer system, and computerreadable medium may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, differentblocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in theFigures. In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblocks may occur out of the order noted in the Figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed concurrently orsubstantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed inthe reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It willalso be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/orflowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purposehardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts orcarry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computerinstructions.

It will be apparent that systems and/or methods, described herein, maybe implemented in different forms of hardware, firmware, or acombination of hardware and software. The actual specialized controlhardware or software code used to implement these systems and/or methodsis not limiting of the implementations. Thus, the operation and behaviorof the systems and/or methods were described herein without reference tospecific software code—it being understood that software and hardwaremay be designed to implement the systems and/or methods based on thedescription herein.

No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed ascritical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as usedherein, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or moreitems, and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Furthermore,as used herein, the term “set” is intended to include one or more items(e.g., related items, unrelated items, a combination of related andunrelated items, etc.), and may be used interchangeably with “one ormore.” Where only one item is intended, the term “one” or similarlanguage is used. Also, as used herein, the terms “has,” “have,”“having,” or the like are intended to be open-ended terms. Further, thephrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on”unless explicitly stated otherwise.

The descriptions of the various aspects and embodiments have beenpresented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to beexhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Even thoughcombinations of features are recited in the claims and/or disclosed inthe specification, these combinations are not intended to limit thedisclosure of possible implementations. In fact, many of these featuresmay be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and/ordisclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claim listedbelow may directly depend on only one claim, the disclosure of possibleimplementations includes each dependent claim in combination with everyother claim in the claim set. Many modifications and variations will beapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing fromthe scope of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein waschosen to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practicalapplication or technical improvement over technologies found in themarketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art tounderstand the embodiments disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of improving accessibility to computerreader tools, the method executable by a processor and comprising:receiving data corresponding to one or more words to be displayed to auser; converting the received data into synthesized speech; identifying,from the synthesized speech, one or more words exceeding anunderstanding threshold value, the understanding threshold valuecorresponding to a probability of difficulty associated withunderstanding the one or more words; retrieving one or more replacementwords for the one or more words exceeding the understanding thresholdvalue; and updating the synthesized speech with the one or morereplacement words.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprisinggenerating a report including the one or more words exceeding theunderstanding threshold value and the one or more replacement words. 3.The method of claim 2, wherein the report includes an explanationcorresponding to a probability of difficulty associated withunderstanding the one or more words.
 4. The method of claim 3, whereinthe reason corresponding to the probability of difficulty associatedwith understanding the one or more words includes the one or more wordsbeing homophones or homographs of other words.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the one or more words exceeding the understanding thresholdvalue are identified based on a neural network processing thesynthesized speech and identifying a confidence score associated witheach word within the synthesized speech.
 6. The method of claim 1,further comprising filtering the received data to remove numbers, propernouns, and non-standard characters.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinthe one or more replacement words are retrieved from an electronicthesaurus.
 8. A computer system for improving accessibility to computerreader tools, the computer system comprising: one or morecomputer-readable non-transitory storage media configured to storecomputer program code; and one or more computer processors configured toaccess said computer program code and operate as instructed by saidcomputer program code, said computer program code including: receivingcode configured to cause the one or more computer processors to receivedata corresponding to one or more words to be displayed to a user;converting code configured to cause the one or more computer processorsto convert the received data into synthesized speech; identifying codeconfigured to cause the one or more computer processors to identify,from synthesized speech, one or more words exceeding an understandingthreshold value, the understanding threshold value corresponding to aprobability of difficulty associated with understanding the one or morewords; retrieving code configured to cause the one or more computerprocessors to retrieve one or more replacement words for the one or morewords exceeding the understanding threshold value; and updating codeconfigured to cause the one or more computer processors to update thesynthesized speech with the one or more replacement words.
 9. Thecomputer system of claim 8, further comprising generating a reportincluding the one or more words exceeding the understanding thresholdvalue and the one or more replacement words.
 10. The computer system ofclaim 9, wherein the report includes an explanation corresponding to aprobability of difficulty associated with understanding the one or morewords.
 11. The computer system of claim 10, wherein the reasoncorresponding to the probability of difficulty associated withunderstanding the one or more words includes the one or more words beinghomophones or homographs of other words.
 12. The computer system ofclaim 8, wherein the one or more words exceeding the understandingthreshold value are identified based on a neural network processing thesynthesized speech and identifying a confidence score associated witheach word within the synthesized speech.
 13. The computer system ofclaim 8, further comprising filtering the received data to removenumbers, proper nouns, and non-standard characters.
 14. The computersystem of claim 8, wherein the one or more replacement words areretrieved from an electronic thesaurus.
 15. A non-transitory computerreadable medium having stored thereon a computer program for improvingaccessibility to computer reader tools, the computer program configuredto cause one or more computer processors to: receive data correspondingto one or more words to be displayed to a user; convert the receiveddata into synthesized speech; identify, from synthesized speech, one ormore words exceeding an understanding threshold value, the understandingthreshold value corresponding to a probability of difficulty associatedwith understanding the one or more words; retrieve one or morereplacement words for the one or more words exceeding the understandingthreshold value; and update the synthesized speech with the one or morereplacement words.
 16. The computer readable medium of claim 15, furthercomprising generating a report including the one or more words exceedingthe understanding threshold value and the one or more replacement words.17. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the reportincludes an explanation corresponding to a probability of difficultyassociated with understanding the one or more words.
 18. The computerreadable medium of claim 17, wherein the reason corresponding to theprobability of difficulty associated with understanding the one or morewords includes the one or more words being homophones or homographs ofother words.
 19. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein theone or more words exceeding the understanding threshold value areidentified based on a neural network processing the synthesized speechand identifying a confidence score associated with each word within thesynthesized speech.
 20. The computer readable medium of claim 15,wherein the one or more replacement words are retrieved from anelectronic thesaurus.